On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Lord Ash's command.

She is currently in a monster's lair, where a constant stream of monstrous creatures will swarm in from all directions, and she has only one request from Lord Ash.

That means fighting, and fighting again.

She used her sword to kill one monster after another that surged out, but the turbid monster opposite her seemed to be a bottomless pit. Gradually, she became exhausted and began to get injured. She was pierced by the monster's spikes and left with bloody marks by the monster's scythe.

She had collapsed countless times, her body covered in blood.

She is tired.

I'm exhausted.

But whenever she wanted to give up, whenever she wanted to beg Lord Ash above to end the training, Jiu You always received the same words.

"Arise, fight!"

Jiuyou knew that Lord Ash was serious. Once she gave up the fight, Lord Ash would not come down to save her. What awaited her was being overwhelmed by the monster tide, having her limbs devoured by monsters, and death!

She brandished her sword.

He swung his sword again.

Even with the excruciating pain in her lungs, as if they were being roasted, and the heaviness in her limbs, as if they were filled with lead, she gritted her teeth, her mind focused solely on that one sentence.

"Arise, fight!"

She was indignant. She was filled with rage at Lord Ash. She was determined to get out of here alive. She was determined to get out and confront Lord Ash about why he was torturing her like this. She was determined to give that person who only dared to hide under the cloak a good beating!

The hope of survival transformed into motivation, and the dragon bloodline within her was fully activated. Her potential was thoroughly unearthed in this life-or-death situation, and was most fully stimulated in adversity. Immediately, a brand-new power began to flow through her body, giving her a new lease on life and making the dragon blood within her burn.

Having awakened her new power, she succeeded; she truly persevered, and not a single monster was able to emerge from the lair again.

Her tense body could no longer hold on, and even five hundred years later, Jiu You still remembered that scene very clearly.

She didn't fall to the ground; instead, a man caught her.

At that moment, she had never felt an embrace so warm and irresistible.

"Thank you for your hard work, Jiu You, and congratulations."

"You've really worked so hard, Lord Ash."

"They must be starving."

"So hungry, I could eat three Ash Lords in one bite."

"Okay, let's go home. Zero should have dinner ready by now. Styutia will heal everything for you. For now, stay here with me and take a nap."

Jiuyou didn't know whether the conversation above was real or a hallucination caused by her losing her mind, after all, Lord Ash was always very quiet.

But what Jiuyou can be certain of is...

At that moment, Lord Ash held her very tightly.

It was through Ash's constant struggle, hard work, and resistance against life and death that she awakened new power, enabling her to achieve what she has today and become one of the "them" who are qualified to stand by Ash's side and remain there.

So

"Arise, fight!"

When Jiu You, who had just come back to her senses from her distant yet profound memories, tried to speak to the lizard-like demi-human opposite her, she found that the other person was already lifeless.

He was lying motionless on the ground.

The black sword, that "relic," ultimately failed to respond to the lizard-like demi-humans.

So

why.

Why can't everyone awaken?

Wasn't being forced into it enough? Wasn't the inner struggle and will to survive sufficient?

It was her method of imitating Lord Ash.

Is there an error?

Only harsh environments can unleash potential, and only the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, can give birth to true power. Sacrificing the majority to benefit the minority is the right thing to do.

after all

This is how Lord Ash created "them".

It was these five women, these Ashes, who ended the source of the calamity and saved the wasteland world.

Jiu You stared at the motionless corpse of the lizard race demi-human on the ground opposite her. Her purple eyes, which had wavered slightly, returned to their initial indifference.

of course.

When those purple eyes moved again and landed on Xia Luo, Xia Luo's heart skipped a beat, and he was so frightened that he almost prostrated himself in confession.

However, he was able to get to where he is today.

It wasn't because of his evil, but because he truly possessed the ability; he was indeed the most powerful among the ministers, capable of abandoning everything for power and survival.

"You bastard, how dare you collude with demi-humans and attempt to smear the loyal General Long Yi before the Emperor! You deserve to die, you are utterly unforgivable!"

Before Xia Tian could even react, his father slapped him, leaving him bewildered.

Summer's head felt like it had been smashed open like a watermelon.

After doing all this, Charlotte prostrated herself on the ground in utter humility and fear, punishing herself and begging for the Empress's forgiveness.

Jiu You coldly watched the scene below.

But those purple eyes quickly looked away, passing through the Dragon Palace, and gazed at the Dragon Kingdom she had built with her own hands.

It seems

It is looking towards something further away.

Jiuyou said nothing, turned around and left the Dragon Palace, returning to her own imperial palace.

All that remained in the Dragon Palace were a group of trembling ministers and officials, dumbfounded by the series of shocking events, the still-warm body of the lizardman demi-human, and Charlotte's headless son.

but.

It seems that Jiu You's terrible night is not over yet.

When she returned to her palace, she found a beautiful figure there, as if he had been waiting for her for a long time.

"long time no see"

"Tang Jiuyou".

The pink-haired succubus, who was sitting with her legs crossed on the Empress's bed, said this.

Chapter 84 The Empress's Dinner Tonight (Part 2)

"What are you here for?"

"besides."

"Get off my bed." Jiu You said in a very serious tone.

"Hmph, a mere dragon girl."

Lena pouted, her words were polite but her actions betrayed her, and she immediately stopped provoking and got off the Empress's bed.

Afterwards, the pink-haired succubus looked Jiu You up and down and then made a clicking sound of approval.

"It's been so long since I've seen you in this military uniform. What, did you know Lord Ash was back, so you wanted to see him in your most familiar attire? You couldn't wait to put on your old clothes?"

"If you want to fight me, just say so."

Lena knew that the irritable dragon girl opposite her was no joke.

If I make a few more jokes, I'm afraid I'll get punched.

"Alright, alright, we're all harem sisters, what's wrong with chatting like best friends? Hey! Put your knife away! I actually came here to tell you that Lady Ash isn't in our Magic City!"

Seeing that the dragon girl opposite her was really about to make a move, the pink-haired succubus immediately panicked. She took a few steps back warily and finally stopped wasting words, stating her purpose in a row.

Jiu You frowned.

"You came all this way just for that one sentence?"

"Hmph, that's for sure. After all, I don't want my Shanghai to receive a declaration of war from the Dragon Kingdom."

"So where is Lord Ash now?"

"It's probably somewhere within your Dragon Kingdom," Lena said, fiddling with her pink hair.

"Then why doesn't Lord Ash come to me directly?"

Hearing Jiu You's silly question, Lena couldn't help but chuckle, but seeing the dragon girl's clenched fist, she quickly straightened up and said:

"Since you can sense that guy, he must have used your ability, right? In that case, you should also be able to sense how weak he is right now, as if he has lost all his power."

Jiu You nodded.

Or rather, that's why she was so eager to find Lord Ash, worried that he might have met with some misfortune in the Holy Kingdom, but now it seems...

It doesn't seem to be what I imagined?

"So don't you understand? With that guy's strong personality, of course he wouldn't come looking for you directly!"

"What do you mean?"

Seeing the dragon girl opposite her still looking puzzled, Lena sighed and facepalmed.

"To give you an example, if you suddenly lost your power, would you still go to Lord Ash?"

"I"

Jiuyou fell silent. Indeed, if she lost her power overnight, she would probably choose to leave quietly and start cultivating again until she could regain all her power. Only then would she be worthy to stand by Lord Ash's side again.

But the problem is

"Stop. I know what you're trying to say, like, 'Ah, we are Lord Ash's personal guards, we are loyal to Lord Ash, and we will never betray him no matter what happens to him,' right?"

The pink-haired succubus was quite convincing; when it came to making people angry, Lena never disappointed "them".